Chương 47: Sympathize With a Monster

Noah and Lux sat alone in an empty room. Or rather, Noah sat. Lux lounged. The small god had claimed the chair across from him and kicked both legs onto the table. One hand rested behind her head, while the other held a mug of beer far too large for her small body. She drank from it casually. Noah watched her for a moment. Then sighed.

"I didn't think someone like you needed to eat or drink." Lux lowered the mug from her lips.

"I don't." Noah blinked. Lux smiled.

"I just like the taste of things that taste bad." She raised one finger.

"Alcohol." Another finger.

"Black licorice." A third.

"The awful taste in my mouth whenever I think about Valor." She chuckled. Noah stared at her.

"How peculiar."

"You're one to talk." Lux pointed the mug at him.

"You always seem to have blood in your mouth." Noah's expression flattened.

"So either you're a reckless fighter…" Her smile turned teasing.

"Or you're enjoying it." Noah lowered his head.

"Reckless." The word came out with complete defeat. Lux laughed and took another drink. For a moment, the room was quiet. Then her smile thinned.

"So…" She leaned back in her chair.

"What was he like?" Noah looked up. Lux's playful tone remained, but her eyes had changed. They were sharper now. Colder.

"Your encounter with my least favorite tyrant." Noah did not answer immediately. He thought of long blonde hair braided with crimson gems. Soft orange eyes. A warm smile. A severed head rolling across the dirt. The pressure of a man who could crush nations and call it mercy. Noah's hands tightened in his lap.

"Overwhelming." Lux watched him closely. Noah swallowed.

"It felt like I was being crushed by his gaze alone." The corner of Lux's mouth twitched. But this time, she did not laugh.

"Yeah." She stared into her mug.

"That sounds like Valor." Lux swirled the beer around slowly.

"Honestly…" Her smile faded.

"Even after all the time we spent together, I barely understand that man." Noah looked at her. Lux leaned back in her chair, her small boots still resting on the table.

"He found me first." Noah's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Found you?" Lux nodded.

"He wanted to become the Hero." For a moment, the room went quiet.

"At the time, Sirius had not become the Apocalypse yet," Lux said.

"He was just a normal emperor." Her gaze drifted toward the ceiling.

"A kind one." Noah said nothing. Lux's fingers tightened around the mug.

"If he had never been corrupted by Nihil, I imagine the world would be far more prosperous by now." Noah lowered his gaze. Nihil. The Man in White. The figure that seemed to stand behind every great disaster. The one who appeared whenever the world was about to break. Noah looked back at Lux.

"What exactly is Nihil?" Lux did not answer immediately.

"I know the Man in White has appeared beside every Apocalypse," Noah continued.

"But what is his goal?" His voice grew firmer.

"For what purpose does he keep throwing the world into chaos like this?" Lux stared into her mug for a long time. Then she sighed.

"Originally?" She placed the beer down on the table.

"His goal was to murder the God of Games." Noah froze. Lux's expression turned serious.

"Atlas." The name seemed to make the air in the room heavier.

"The strongest of us four Primordial Gods." Noah had heard of them. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Everyone had. The beings who stood above gods. The ones who held the ultimate authorities of existence. The God of Games. Atlas. The Lord of the Spirit Realm. Siddhartha. The Embodiment of the End. Ragnar. And the Lumiar of Hope. Lux. Lux looked smaller than usual as the silence settled between them.

"Nihil and Atlas battled for eons," she said quietly.

"Long before the Apocalypses began. Long before Heroes. Long before the world learned to fear the white suit and that damned smile." Noah felt a chill crawl down his spine. Lux picked up the mug again, but she did not drink from it.

"Back then, Nihil was not interested in Heroes or kingdoms or cursed eras." Her eyes darkened.

"He wanted one thing." Noah waited. Lux's voice lowered.

"To end the game." The words settled between them. Then Lux shrugged faintly.

"For what purpose, I still don't know." Noah frowned. Lux leaned back in her chair again, staring at the ceiling.

"Eventually, Nihil took a break from all of it."

"A break?"

"From trying to kill Atlas," Lux said.

"From whatever grand hatred had been burning inside him since the beginning." Her expression softened, but only slightly.

"He found love." Noah stayed quiet. Lux's fingers tightened around the mug.

"Dorothy." The name was gentle. Almost mournful.

"She was part of my church. A kind woman who liked to join the choir." Noah's eyes widened slightly.

"The same Dorothy as…"

"The First Apocalypse," Lux said.

"Dorothy Swallowtail." The Apocalypse of Thorns. The room went still. Lux's voice turned bitter.

"The pope of my church killed her. Claimed she was a witch." Noah felt his stomach twist. Lux looked down into her beer.

"Nihil revived her." For a moment, there was only silence.

"But she was different than before," Lux said.

"Broken. Twisted. Changed by whatever force he used to drag her back." Her eyes narrowed.

"That was how the First Apocalypse was born." Noah did not speak. The beginning of the Cycle of Fate. The first Hero. The first Apocalypse. The first wound. Lux lifted the mug, but stopped before drinking.

"Ever since that day, Nihil has decided he will tear down everything I've built." Her voice was tired now. Not playful. Not mocking. Just tired.

"Every Hero. Every hope. Every era." She smiled faintly, but there was no humor in it.

"Until he can eventually tear out my neck." Noah stared at her. Lux finally drank. Then she set the mug down.

"If you truly want to end this constant Cycle of Fate plaguing the world…" She looked at him.

"You will have to kill Nihil." Noah's hands went still. Lux did not look away.

"I know you're averse to killing. I know you always try to see the good in people." Her gaze softened.

"Like you did with Reverie." Noah gave a weak smile.

"So you knew about that."

"Of course I knew." Lux snorted.

"It seems everyone saw through my plan," Noah said.

"You are not as sneaky as you think you are."

"That hurts."

"It should." Lux leaned forward, resting her small arms on the table.

"You're a good kid, Noah." The words were simple. That made them hurt more.

"Maybe too pure to become a Hero." Noah's smile faded.

"You have the mentality to save everyone," Lux said.

"And that is beautiful." Her eyes sharpened.

"But I'm not sure if you can finish the job." Noah lowered his gaze. Lux watched him quietly.

"Once you hear a monster's story, you sympathize with it." She tapped one finger against the table.

"That is just how you are." Noah said nothing. He thought of Reverie crying beside her children. Jupiter speaking with Annabelle's voice. Milo and Millie clinging to a dream of Candy Land. Even The Crows had reasons. Even monsters had grief. Lux's voice turned colder.

"When the time comes, can you kill The Doctor?" Noah went still. Lux did not blink.

"If you don't, he will become this era's Apocalypse." The words struck the room like a bell. Noah's breath caught. Lux continued.

"And the vice leader of The Crows…" Her small fingers tightened around the mug.

"Owl." Noah's eyes sharpened. Lux's expression darkened.

"I'm positive that man is Nihil." The air seemed to vanish from the room. Noah stared at her.

"The Doctor," Lux said quietly.

"Owl. Nihil." Her gaze did not soften.

"You will have to kill them all." Noah's hands curled into fists beneath the table. Lux leaned forward.

"Can you?" For a long moment, Noah said nothing. The question sat between them. Heavy. Ugly. Unavoidable. Then Noah lowered his gaze.

"No matter how hard I try…" His voice was quiet.

"I don't think I could ever forgive The Doctor." Lux watched him.

"I hate killing, I truly do," Noah said.

"I hate the thought of becoming someone who can decide that another person doesn't deserve tomorrow." His fingers trembled.

"But I understand." His voice tightened.

"Some monsters don't deserve to live." The image returned before he could stop it. His mother's body. The blood. The empty eyes. The Doctor's laughter. Noah's throat burned.

"After what that man did…" His voice cracked.

"I could never spare him." Lux said nothing.

"The sight of my mother's corpse is still burned into my mind." Noah pressed a hand against his chest.

"It hurts every time I think about it." Lux's expression softened. Only slightly.

"I know." The room fell quiet. Lux looked down at her mug.

"I don't know if revenge will make you feel better." Her voice was gentler now.

"It usually doesn't." Noah looked at her.

"But for the memory of the dead…" Lux lifted her eyes.

"You cannot hesitate." Noah closed his eyes. His mother. His father. Gram. The people The Doctor had turned to bones and blood. Walter's final stand. Sarah's final moment. All of them remained inside him. Not as hatred alone. As weight. As duty. As a promise. Noah opened his eyes.

"I know." His voice was calm now. Not loud. Not angry. Certain.

"When it comes down to it, I'll kill The Doctor." Lux stared at him. Noah met her gaze.

"I have to." His fists tightened.

"For everyone he's harmed." Lux studied him for a long moment. Then she leaned back in her chair and took another drink.

"Good." Noah did not feel proud. He did not feel relieved. He only felt the shape of the path ahead growing darker. Some monsters could be saved. Some monsters could be understood. And some monsters had to die before they devoured another tomorrow.